[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5182-5184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2087]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection, 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of an extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0090).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, we 
are inviting comments on a collection of information that we will 
submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval. The information collection request (ICR) is titled ``30 CFR 
216.57--Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification (Form MMS-4377, 
Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification).''

DATES: Submit written comments on or before April 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Sharron L. Gebhardt, Lead 
Regulatory Specialist, Minerals Management Service, Minerals Revenue 
Management, P.O. Box 26165, MS 320B2, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you 
use an overnight courier service, our courier address is Building 85, 
Room A-614, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. You may also 
email your comments to us at [email protected]. Include the title of 
the information collection and the OMB control number in the 
``Attention'' line of your comment. Also include your name and return 
address. Submit electronic comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use 
of special characters and any form of encryption. If you do not receive 
a confirmation we have received your email, contact Ms. Gebhardt at 
(303) 231-3211.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharron L. Gebhardt, telephone (303) 
231-3211, Fax (303) 231-3781 or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR 216.57--Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification 
(Form MMS-4377, Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification).
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0090.
    Bureau Form Number: Form MMS-4377.

[[Page 5183]]

    Abstract: The Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior 
(DOI) is responsible for collecting royalties from lessees who produce 
minerals from leased Federal and Indian lands. The Secretary is 
required by various laws to manage mineral resources production on 
Federal and Indian lands, collect the royalties due, and distribute the 
funds in accordance with those laws. MMS performs the royalty 
management functions for the Secretary.
    The Bureau of Land Management, the surface management agency for 
Federal onshore leases, grants royalty rate reductions to operators of 
stripper oil properties producing an average of less than 15 barrels of 
oil per eligible well per well-day. See 43 CFR 3103.4-2. The purpose of 
these royalty rate reductions is to encourage continued production, 
provide an incentive for enhanced oil recovery projects, discourage 
abandonment of properties producing less than an average or less than 
15 barrels of oil per eligible well per well-day, and reduce the 
operator's expenses. The royalty rate for a stripper oil property is 
lower than the royalty rate reflected in the lease and thus reduces the 
amount of revenues paid to the Federal Government. In order to perform 
the royalty management functions for DOI, MMS must receive a timely 
notification of any royalty rate changes. Reporters use the Form MMS-
4377 to notify MMS of royalty rate changes.
    No proprietary information will be submitted to MMS under this 
collection. No items of a sensitive nature are collected. The decision 
to request a royalty rate reduction is voluntary; however, failure to 
timely submit the notification will result in the rate being denied.
    We have also changed the title of this ICR from ``Stripper Royalty 
Rate Reduction Notification (Form MMS-4377)'' to ``30 CFR 216.57--
Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification (Form MMS-4377, Stripper 
Royalty Rate Reduction Notification)'' to clarify the regulatory 
language we are covering under 30 CFR 216.57.
    Frequency of Response: Annually.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 900 operators of 
stripper oil properties producing an average of less than 15 barrels of 
oil per eligible well per well-day.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 1,080 
hours. The following chart shows the breakdown of the estimated burden 
hours by CFR section and paragraph:

                                       Respondent Annual Burden Hour Chart
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   Burden hours   Annual  number   Annual burden
              CFR Section                 Reporting requirement    per response    of  responses       hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 CFR 216.57.........................  Stripper royalty rate                1.2             900           1,080
                                         reduction notification..
                                        In accordance with its
                                         regulations at 43 CFR
                                         3103.4-1, title
                                         ``Waiver, suspension,
                                         or reduction of rental,
                                         royalty, or minimum
                                         royalty,'' the Bureau
                                         of Land Management
                                         (BLM) may grant reduced
                                         royalty rates to
                                         operators of low
                                         producing oil leases to
                                         encourage continued
                                         production. Operators
                                         who have been granted a
                                         reduced royalty rate(s)
                                         by BLM must submit a
                                         Stripper Royalty Rate
                                         Reduction Notification
                                         (Form MMS-4377) to MMS
                                         for each 12-month
                                         qualifying period that
                                         a reduced royalty
                                         rate(s) is granted.
                                        [58 FR 64903, Dec 10,
                                         1993]..
                                        Please note the BLM
                                         citation and title
                                         changed to.
                                        43 CFR 3103.4-2 Stripper
                                         well royalty
                                         reductions..
                                                                 -----------------
    Total.............................  ........................             1.2             900           1,080
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour'' cost burdens.
    Comments: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides an agency may 
not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number. Before submitting an ICR to OMB, PRA Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) requires each agency ``* * * to provide notice * * * and 
otherwise consult with members of the public and affect agencies 
concerning each proposed collection of information * * *.'' Agencies 
must specifically solicit comments to: (a) Evaluate whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to 
perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) 
evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) 
minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    The PRA also requires agencies to estimate the total annual 
reporting ``non-hour cost'' burden to respondents or recordkeepers 
resulting from the collection of information. We have not identified 
non-hour cost burdens for this information collection. If you have 
costs to generate, maintain, and disclose this information, you should 
comment and provide your total capital and startup cost components or 
annual operation, maintenance, and purchase of service components. You 
should describe the methods you use to estimate major costs factors, 
including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of 
capital equipment, discount rate(s), and the period over which you 
incur costs. Capital and startup costs include, among other items, 
computers and software you purchase to prepare for collecting 
information; monitoring, sampling, and testing equipment; and record 
storage facilities. Generally, your estimates should not include 
equipment or services purchased: (i) Before October 1, 1995; (ii) to 
comply with requirements not associated with the information 
collection; (iii) for reasons other than to provide information or keep 
records for the Government; of (iv) as part of customary and usual 
business or private practices.
    We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them 
in our ICR submission for OMB approval, including appropriate 
adjustments to the estimated burden. We will provide a copy of the ICR 
to you without charge upon request, and the ICR will also be

[[Page 5184]]

posted on our Web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm.
    Public Comment Policy: We will post all comments in response to 
this notice on our Web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm. We will also makes copies of the comments 
available for public review, including names and addresses of 
respondents, during regular business hours at our offices in Lakewood, 
Colorado. Individual respondents may request we withhold their home 
address from the public record, which we will honor to the extent 
allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would 
withhold from the rulemaking record a respondent's identity, as 
allowable by law. If you request that we withhold your name and/or 
address, state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. 
However, we will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all 
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
    MMS Federal Register Liaison Officer: Denise Johnson (202) 208-
3976.

    Dated: January 22, 2004.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 04-2087 Filed 2-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-M